


One Choice Can Define You But Destiny Writes Your Path.

by Thousandsmiles



Category: Divergent - All Media Types, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Abnegation Faction, Alternate Universe - Divergent Fusion, Amity Faction, Candor Faction, Canon-Typical Violence, Dauntless Faction, Divergence hating Uther, Divergent!Merlin, Erudite Faction, Factionless - Freeform, Factionless hating Uther, Friendship, Gen, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Merlin is always hiding a secret, No Slash, Tattooed Merlin, Tattoos, Trains, conspiricies, divergence, no magic, serums, swords and other assorted weaponry, tattooed arthur
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-18 13:53:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11292009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thousandsmiles/pseuds/Thousandsmiles
Summary: Arthur is dauntless born, chosen faction Dauntless, youngest Dauntless leader ever.Lancelot is an abnegation born boy chosen faction AbnegationGwen is an amity born girl chosen faction AmityElyan is an amity born boy, chosen faction, AmityGwaine is erudite born, chosen faction, DauntlessPercival is candor born, chosen faction AmityLeon is dauntless born chosen faction DauntlessMerlin is abnegation born, chosen faction Dauntless.None of them are what they seem.There are conspiracies brewing within the walled city of Camelot. Conspiracies that threaten the system that has kept the five factions at peace for so long. Merlin, a divergent hiding in the Dauntless faction, finds himself inexplicably tied up in these conspiracies when he hears something he shouldn't. And while within the walls, trouble brews, outside the walls lie a far greater danger.Or that Merlin-Divergent AU no one asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you all enjoy this one!
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the Divergent Series.

"Inconclusive," Merlin says to his mom looking anxiously at him.

"We always knew you were special" Hunith says.

"What am I going do?" Merlin asks, "I’m special but where do I fit? What is my purpose? The tester said I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. That it was dangerous."

"Anything different is looked at as dangerous," Hunith said." The safest place for you to choose would be Abnegation."

"I can't," said Merlin, "It’s too small here. I can't hide being different like this all the time. People will notice."

"Not Candor," said Hunith.

"No," agreed Merlin laughing, "Amity maybe?"

Hunith laughed, "Merlin," she said, "My dear boy, you are kind, but you do not avoid conflict."

"Dauntless then?" Merlin teased.

Hunith tensed. "No," she said, "That would be worse than Candor." 

"It would be the easiest to hide in," Merlin says, "Everyone’s crazy there."

"But you have to pass the trials," Hunith said, "Gaius implied that divergent children are found most easily there and most of the factionless come from Dauntless. I don't want you to be factionless Merlin. It would break my heart."

"I won't," said Merlin quickly. "Who is Gaius?"

"An old friend. Amity but he's stationed permanently in Dauntless in one of their hospitals. I wish he wasn't. He'd just the sort of person that would a good mentor for you."

"I don't want to go to Erudite," Merlin says after a while. "I’m smart but not that smart. And hiding among a bunch of smart people isn't the best idea."

Hunith sighed. "If not Abnegation then where?"

"Dauntless," said Merlin.

Hunith's head lifted but Merlin raised a hand. "Look it's just the trials, right? I can keep my head down for those and pass. Once I'm in, I can meet with Gaius there. He'll keep an eye on me and let’s face it, dauntless aren't the brightest bulbs out there."

"Merlin," Hunith chided. Then she sighed. "Alright. Alright, fine. But it's not going to be easy. It's Dauntless Merlin, dangerous comes with the territory."

"Like you said," said Merin grinning, "I’m not conflict avoidant."

* * *

 

 

When Merlin sliced his hand with the knife he seriously considered dropping his blood into the bowl of earth instead of the coals. It hurt. A lot. But he knew that Amity wouldn't suit. So, he shifted his hand and his blood sizzled on coals.

The Dauntless faction screamed and Merin looked up at his mother who gave him a tear-filled nod. This was it. There was no going back after this. 

 

* * *

 

Three months later Merlin had achieved the impossible. He'd been in the top 10 initiates and so had been accepted into his faction and he hadn’t given away his divergence. Gaius was so relieved he said he almost had a heart attack.

Merlin now also looked much like any other dauntless. He sported two merlin birds under his right eye, one for each parent, the word ‘magic’ was inked across his left knuckles and on the back of his right hand starting from his fingertips was the Dauntless symbol in fiery red and black, partly to allay suspicion and partly because he really did like the Dauntless manifesto.

Because Merlin was apparently no good at computers and almost a failure at fighting by dauntless standards he was now apprenticing as a tattoo artist in Tori's shop and doing pretty well for himself. Tori had him running and fetching during the day but after hours was when she really got down to teaching him. He practiced on gel dummies and was now about to progress from doing simple lines.

Life was good, hard, but much better than if he'd he been stuck on a boring part of the fence.

On evenings, he visited with Gaius when he could and practiced late at night when no one else was usually up. A common misconception about Dauntless was that they stayed up late partying. Merlin had found that most of Dauntless went to sleep around eleven because they usually had to go to work early and no job in Dauntless was easy. Heck, living in Dauntless wasn't easy.

The importance of well rested bodies was impressed on every dauntless early. The was after all a line between being brave and being stupid. Being stupid was pushing your body too hard for far too long.

He had friends, although there were none from his batch of initiates. Merlin's batch of initiates were split between hating him for beating them and hating him for beating their friends out of a spot in dauntless. Next to no one thought he should have made it through and they certainly didn't think he should have made it in at 6th place. Quite a few of them thought that he had cheated somehow although Merlin didn't even know how he possibly could.

His best friend however was Gwaine. Gwaine fit the profile of Dauntless to a T. He was brave, wild, always ready to have fun, drank like a fish, was an exceptional shot and amazing in hand to hand combat. He had problems with authority however and often got shuffled off his job as a cargo guard and on to a fence guard in the most boring stretch of fence, for punishment. Despite that he never lost his job because he was damn good at it and one of the more charming dauntless which made him the much-preferred liaison between the sectors when delivering cargo.  At present, he was off on a two-day cargo run to Amity.

* * *

 

Today after lunch there was a flurry of action in the pit.

“What’s going on?” Merlin asked the nearest person who appeared to have some knowledge of what was happening.   

“Fire,” said the person. “There was a fire in the Erudite sector.”

“Oh,” said Merlin feeling cold as he watched persons being ferried in and into the infirmary. Dauntless acted as the first responders in nearly any crisis that occurred. The city guards within the Erudite sector would have tried to save anyone inside and get them out of the fire, while the rest of their comrades would have suited up properly.

“Did we lose anyone?”

“We don't know yet,” the unknown person said.” They shifted most of them off to Amity.”

Merlin watched the commotion for a while and then remembered that he had to get back to the tattoo shop. He hurried back and made it just in time.

Tori gave him a warning and set him to autoclave the needles. As they worked, customers brought in news throughout the evening. Apparently, the fire had claimed two of the dauntless rescuers but all the erudite within the building had been brought safely. A lot of people suffered burns but none third degree. Those dauntless with minor burns had returned to Dauntless for treatment but others had been sent to Amity. There was as yet no word of how the fire had started.

* * *

 

Merlin and Tori had just completed their nightly lesson when there a knock on the door.

“We’re closed!” Tori yelled.

“I was hoping you'd do me a favor,” a familiar voice said.

Tori and Merlin shared a startled look and then Tori opened the door.

“Arthur,” she said, “what are you doing here?”

There was a pause when she took him in and then said, “You look awful. Come in.”

When he came in Merlin could see that Arthur did indeed look awful. His blond hair was darkened with soot. Black streams marred his face and his clothes was scuffed and burned. The scent of smoke clung to him.

“You were in the fire?” Merlin blurted.

“Observant as usual, Merlin,” Arthur said but his voice was tired and his eyes dark.

“So what can I do for you?” Tori asked Arthur.

“A tattoo,” said Arthur, “I know it’s late but I didn’t want to leave this until tomorrow.”

“What is you want done?”

“Initials,” said Arthur. “VZ.” He gave a little smile, “Victor.”

“Oh no,” said Tori, “I didn’t know he was one we’d lost.”

“It was supposed to me,” said Arthur, voice almost mechanical. “I was last of the line and he just turned around, grabbed me, shoved me out and then the building exploded.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” said Tori, and continued as Arthur opened his mouth to reply. “Victor was old. He knew he’d have to leave dauntless soon enough. He would never have wanted to be factionless and this was a better alternative than the chasm. I know him, he would have wanted to die in the symbol of our faction. He made his choice.”

Arthur closed his mouth and then nodded stiffly. “He still saved my life. I’d like to honor that.”

“Of course,” said Tori, “Merlin come on, you’re doing the designing and outline for this.”

“What?” said both Arthur and Merlin.

“You trained him Arthur,” said Tori, “So you ought to know his hand will be steady.”

“Merlin’s hand is never steady,” Arthur said.

“I say it’s steady enough,” Tori said raising an eyebrow, “I hope you have confidence in my ability to know when my apprentice is ready for something?”

Arthur raised his hands in surrender. Merlin was still hyperventilating during this encounter.

“Merlin!” snapped Tori, “The design.”

Merlin snapped out of his panic, grabbed the design tablet and asked, “Anything design in particular you want?”

“Something with fire,” Arthur said, “But… as if it were part of them?”

“Okay,” said Merlin, “Give me a few minutes. How big do you want this?”

“About an inch and a half,” Arthur said.

Merlin nodded and set to work. Five minutes later he presented the design to Arthur. Soft flames rose out of the letter VZ, glowing cracks in them hinting at a molten inside and the flames’ design hinted at the dauntless symbol. The letters’ font spoke of strength and stubbornness, wisdom and wildness.

Arthur stared at it without speaking for a long time until Merlin cleared his throat and said, “Is that good or do you want something else?”

“It’s perfect,” Arthur said softly and then shook himself and said, “Yes it’s fine.”

“Where do you want it?” asked Tori.”

“Lower back, left side,” said Arthur. Merlin slide the tablet into the visualizer port and while Arthur took of his jacket and T-shirt. When Arthur sat In the chair, Merlin aimed the visualizer on Arthur’s back, the light forming the pattern on the skin in light gray for Merlin to follow.

Merlin cleaned the patch of skin with alcohol, taking especial care because Arthur somehow had soot down his back. He also took the time to espy Arthur’s other two tattoos that he hadn’t seen before. On his back behind his right shoulder was the Dauntless symbol in back and red and on the other side was a red shield with a golden dragon. They were well done, in stunning detail and Merlin recognized Tori’s work.

When he finished clean the skin he let that alcohol dry while he fitted in his needles and ink.

“Are you ready?” He asked Arthur.

“You better not mess this up,” Arthur warned.

“I won’t,” Merlin said. “Starting now.”

He took his time outlining the tattoo while Tori supervised. And, although he was nervous, he didn’t make a single mistake. But by the time he finished the outline his arm was tired and his head was feeling slightly achy from the sheer concentration he’d used. He put the tool down and Tori nodded in approval and then took over to do the inside while Merlin stayed close by to hand Tori anything she might want, while getting another lesson on shading.

Through the entire two and half hours it took, Arthur never made a sound or even moved for that matter. They could have been drawing on him with marker for all the response he gave and it both impressed and worried Merlin. Actually, it was the look on Arthur’s face or lack thereof that worried Merlin. Dauntless were forced to learn how to deal with death but Victor’s death had clearly affected Arthur.

When Tori finished Arthur took a deep breath and let it out in a  sigh as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Merlin didn’t think it had been because he was no longer in pain. Tori wiped off the tattoo and covered it.

“You know the rules,” she said, “So I don’t have to repeat ‘em.”

Arthur nodded and pulled back on his clothes. “Thank you,” he said to Tori with a small but genuine smile. “Both of you,” he added looking at Merlin.

“Any time,” Merlin said and then busied himself with cleaning up while Arthur transferred points over to the shops account. Then the door slammed and he was gone.

“Are you done?” Tori asked.

“Almost,” said Merlin.

“Hurry up then,” she said, “I want to go home.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot in this chappie, just some introductions really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot in this chapter, just some introductions really.

 

Gwaine looked up at the sky from the roof of the Amity station house that the dauntless guarding the cargo were routinely placed. Normally, they’d be on their way back to the Dauntless Faction by now but with the fire from Erudite, the train had been delayed so that those who had been treated at Amity could return to the Dauntless facility with them.

Gwaine chewed on a stalk of sweet grass as he thought about the fire. Growing up in Erudite has left him with a keen knowledge of all the safe guards placed in Erudite testing facilities. Most normal places were equipped to deal with fire in the event that the electronic grid had a sudden failure. As far as Gwaine was concerned, that fire shouldn’t have happened.

Of course, it was possible. Safeguards couldn’t cover everything sometimes, no matter how cleverly designed they’d been. Which then left the question, what it was that Erudite had been testing that was big enough to get out of hand?

Gwaine rubbed his thumb over the wrist band on his left hand as that covered the Dauntless symbol tattooed there. He didn’t like the existence of the fire, not with the veiled whispers from his friends among the factionless. He didn’t like it one bit.

 

* * *

 

It was a chilly morning and Lancelot pulled his gray over shirt more tightly closed over him as he hurried with the rest of his group through the streets of the city.

The screens around the city were calmly announcing the latest news on the fire that had occurred yesterday. Two of the dauntless rescuers had died and there were over fifty causalities, the worst with second degree burns.

The fire was determined to have been an electrical fire which had innocuously enough started in the broom cupboard of the sixth floor. Unfortunately, the cleaning liquids left in said broom cupboard had escalated the fire, the fuel load allowing the fire to get out of hand.

Lancelot was thankful that there had been only two fatalities and that those rescued hadn’t been badly injured. He could see on the faces of the rest of his Abnegation brethren that they too were relived if saddened by the death of the rescuers.

In a few moments more, his group reached their destination, one of the spots where the factionless gathered and lived. They quickly set up a small station area where they unloaded all the food. The factionless came towards them, used by now to the routine. Lancelot however picked up several packages of food and carried them to the older persons there so they wouldn’t have to get up. The day was cold to him, he didn’t want to know how it would feel to someone in their sixties and stick thin.

Most of the persons accepted the food with murmured thanks but one old man stopped him.   
“There was a fire?”

“Yes,” he said, “In Erudite.”

“Any dead?”

“Two of the dauntless who went into rescue.”

“Good!” the old man spat.

Lancelot was startled and the old man saw it. “It was Dauntless I was chosen for. And it was Dauntless that made me factionless. I’m glad if they’re dead! I don’t care a damn about them.”

“They saved lives,” Lancelot reminded him gently.

“Fat lot it does me,” he said, “They save lives but kick others out to starve. What’s the justice in that?” He made a waving motion and Lancelot moved away, troubled by the encounter.

 

* * *

 

Dauntless funerals were not solemn things. One of their leaders, Arthur’s father, Uther, made a speech about the bravery of their two fallen and then drinking commences. Merlin sips from a bottle but really, he doesn’t care to drink. He talks when he’s drunk and he has far too many secrets to keep hidden.

Besides, all the drinking and laughter doesn’t cover the heaviness of death. Death is sadly commonplace in Dauntless but that doesn’t make it easier, in fact it makes it worse. It just gets more bitter. They’re the most courageous of people but doesn’t mean they like death. But courage means living when the dead go on. It’s pride that makes them pretend like it’s nothing. But Merlin doesn’t grudge them this bit of pride. It’s the only shield they have against the loss.

Tori isn’t drinking. She’s sipping peppermint tea. Merlin wishes he could too but his membership is too new.

“Hiding away in here Magic?” Arthur’s voice is sarcastic as it always it when he uses Merlin’s nickname.

“I’m leaning against the wall, Arthur. That hardly constitutes as hiding,” Merlin says, taking another sip of his beer.

Arthur leans against the wall next to him, sipping from a bottle as well. Merlin raises an eyebrow when he notices that it’s root beer.

“Not one for drinking?” he asks.

“Not today,” says Arthur. “Someone has to keep sober to ensure we don’t have any more funerals anytime soon. I don’t know what’s brave about tripping and falling into the chasm when drunk and I’m willing to bet my father doesn’t either. Which means, he’ll give the speeches to me.”

“So…you’re hiding from work by doing work?” Merlin asks.

Arthur pauses and then says, “Shut up Magic.”

“Sure Sire,” Merlin says, “Conversation with you rots my brain.”

“Are you insulting one of your leaders?” Arthur says ominously.

“Just stating facts Sire,” Merlin adds cheekily and gets a face full of root beer.

“How’s that fact?” Arthur says conversationally.

“I forgot from training, how much you like to throw things,” Merlin coughs out. He pulls off his black neck kerchief and wipes his face and then stuffs it into his pocket in disgust.

“How’s the tattoo coming along?”

“Healing,” says Arthur shortly, his eyes roaming the crowd. After a moment he stiffens, shoves the empty bottle at Merlin and takes off in the direction of the chasm. Merlin sighs and looks around for a bin to dump the bottle while Arthur saves an idiot from falling in.

* * *

 

“Gwen?” calls Elyan, “Do we have anymore bandaids?”

“In the second cupboard in the bathroom,” Gwen calls back.

Elyan fetches the bandaids but Gwen comes in and says, “Careful Eylan, that’s all we’ve got left. If we take anymore, people will notice.”

“I’m only taking half,” he says, “Better not get cut at all for the rest of the month eh?”

Gwen laughs but sobers quickly, “And be careful out there. They can be dangerous.”

“I know,” Elyan says. “But they think I’m only Amity.”

“Dauntless courage doesn’t substitute for Dauntless training,” Gwen whispers, “Be careful. You’re all I’ve got left.”

“I will be,” Elyan told her. He kissed her on the forehead and then left the house, taking a roundabout path to his workgroup.

He passed through several orchards when the two men appeared from around trees.

“You have ‘em?” one demanded.

“Not so much this time,” Elyan admits, “Or they’ll notice. But I thought you’d prefer less on a continuous basis rather than have this route cut off.”

The other factionless man grunted but held out his hand for the bandaids. Elyan dropped them into his hand and then watched as they disappeared back into the trees. Then he set off running in the direction of his work group.

He slowed before he reached them and got his breathing under control and then strolled out and hopped onto the transport truck.

“I thought you weren’t coming today Elyan!” One of his friends called out.

“Gwen made breakfast. A man can miss that much good food!” Elyan said setting off a round of laughter. A few moments later the truck started up, carrying Elyan off to his shift in the fields.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter but I hope you all enjoy! Thanks to all those who gave kudos and/or commented!

Percival watched the figures creep just below the horizon line before disappearing altogether. It was not the first time he'd ever seen people outside the walls. Working at the farms close to the walls had given him that advantage.

But as before he never said a word. It didn't matter. There was a reason the walls were here and there was a reason the people never announced themselves. So long as they left the city alone Percival was going to leave them alone. His candor upbringing warred against that decision but he had learnt that sometimes secrets are kept to save people. All the same there's been a lot of those figures on the outside. He resolved to keep an eye on the situation.

* * *

 

Leon kept an eye on his young leader even as he gave out the assigned patrols to the various areas within the city. Arthur was with a team surveying the damage of the destroyed building. They were going in first to check the structural integrity before allowing the Erudite faction in to scavage and rebuild.

Arthur appeared unfazed but Leon, who'd known him from a boy, could see the dark look in his eyes and the tight set of his shoulders. Arthur was upset about something and it wasn't just the death of the two dauntless.

Arthur was a brilliant tactician and in another life Leon suspected that he would fit quite comfortably in Erudite. Leon gave out the final assignment and went with his group to his section. He’d talk to Arthur later and find out what it was exactly that was causing an itch between Arthur’s shoulder blades. In the mean-time he’d keep an eye out himself.

 

* * *

 

Gwen drank from her bottle of water careful not to let her face crinkle in disgust. It couldn’t be tasted, the calming serum, yet she knew it was there all the same. She carefully changed the bandages on the erudite member, a victim of the fire in the Erudite Faction.

“It will be healed soon enough,” she assured the man, “Just don’t move it around too much. You have to let your skin get a little firmer or it’ll tear.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “Erudite tested that salve.”

“Good,” said Gwen eyes twinkling, “Then I expect no trouble from you!” The man glared at her but eventually subsided recognizing that he had been maneuvered into a corner. Gwen smiled sweetly to him and moved on to her next patient.

It was one of the dauntless rescuers. He was impatient to get moving despite the fact that almost half his body was covered in second degree burns. He’d saved at least three people, she’d heard, by running into one of the worst parts of the building and shielding them with his own body.

For all their crazy actions, blunt words and arrogant ways, Gwen could not help but admire the dauntless. They really lived up to their faction trait of courage. And even more so, they cared. Oh it was hard to tell, especially with people who guarded their feelings so well, but the dauntless cared. They’d run into a burning building because it was brave but they wouldn’t have taken the worst of the burns if they didn’t care. They wouldn’t tread so close to that line of stupid if they didn’t care.

Gwen inspected him, changed his bandages, repasted him with salve, tried without success to get him to take a painkiller and finally broke to him the bad news that he would not be well enough to leave on the train to Dauntless that evening. Predictably he pitched a fit but quieted when Gwen threatened to withhold the salve so that his skin wouldn’t heal right and he’d not be able to move right ever again. Happy that he wouldn’t disobey her orders to not move Gwen moved onto her next patients and eventually went outside the building for a  breath of fresh air.

“Esmerelda!” came a jaunty voice.

Gwen closed her eyes and let out a sigh even as she smiled. “Gwaine, I’ve told you that’s not my name!”

“But Esmerelda is so much better than stuffy Guinevere! Not that your name isn’t lovely my dear and it does suit you but you aren’t a stuffy amity and so I must rename the bolder parts of you something!”

“Gwen works quite fine,” said Gwen shaking her head. “And I hate to disappoint you but I am a stuffy Amity.”

“You smacked me when I tried to get up,” Gwaine reminded her.

“You had a slice down your leg that I had just sealed,” Gwen reminded him, “I had other patients to tend to besides you and couldn’t waste more time sealing it back again. Since you’re Dauntless I took a guess that that would be what you listened to. It worked.”

“Ah, Esmerelda, Esmerelda,” said Gwaine shaking his head sorrowfully. “You can say what you like but,” here he leaned forward and whispered, “I can see the fire in you.”

“What are you here for Gwaine?” asked Gwen sharper that she meant to, trying to get control of her suddenly racing heart.

“Simply to see who is ready to go and who isn’t,” Gwaine said leaning back. “We’re taking a path back to Erudite as well so if any of the Erudite want to join us on the journey, they may.”

“Well you can ask them yourselves. All but two of your faction can travel,” Gwen told him

“Thank you,” he said, “I’ll do that! Good day Guinevere!” And with a little curtsy he was past her and into the building. Gwen took in a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. She didn’t think that Gwaine would ever tell his suspicions about her but still it frightened her to know that someone even suspected.

 

* * *

 

Arthur tested each step before he put his weight on it fully. The floor creaked alarmingly a bit but held his weight. He bounced in place for a bit but it didn’t give out under him. His eyes swept the walls and roof looking for signs of instability in them that would render it dangerous to anyone else coming in but found none that would truly endanger people.

“This room is clear,” he said to his team. He heard various noises on acknowledgement as he tore of a piece of green tape and stuck it on the doorway to indicate its safety for the following erudite. He then moved on to the next room in his section. This one looked a bit more unstable. It had been more consumed by the fire than the room he’d checked previously. The roof on the far side looked like it might cave in and the floor beneath that section looked like it might do the same.

Arthur walked in carefully and found he could only progress halfway into the room before the floor became unsafe. Since all the tables were in the far side of the room he grimaced and crossed the room off entirely. He marked the doorway with red tape and moved further into the building.

It was nearly midday by the time they had checked through the whole building. His team asked him if they could give the clear to the erudite but Arthur said, “Give me a few more minutes.”

His team frowned but said nothing as Arthur made his way back to the sixth floor where the fire had purportedly started.

Treading carefully, he came to the broom closet which had been the start of the fire. Or so, the Erudite had said. He stopped down close to the opening into the broom closet and inspected the floor. Most of it was burnt badly and very not safe but Arthur chanced it to pick out what he could faintly see beneath the ash and water: pour patterns.

Oh it was very hard to see and if he wasn’t looking for it he’d have missed it. Morgana had left behind some of her books when she had chosen Erudite. One of them had been about fires. There’d been detailed notes about pour patterns and fuel load.

Whoever had poured the accelerant had been clever, very clever. With the way the fire had burned, that pour pattern was almost entirely obliterated. Arthur sighed. He hadn’t wanted it to be there. He really hadn’t. But ever since he’d noticed the point of origin of a fire that had certainly not been the broom closet he’d suspected. His subconscious had known, from the moment that he had heard about the broom closet that something was wrong. He’d been in that fire and something about the way it had moved, it’s direction or, or something(!) had told him it didn’t start in that innocuous little broom closet. Now he knew for sure.

He was equally sure that if he brought it up the pour patterns that the erudite would have a a perfectly plausible answer for him. He sighed and moved back to his team.

“Give them the all clear,” he said as he swept out the burnt blackened building that had taken two of his own for a reason he didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We should definitely have some Merlin next chapter! How is it going so far though guys?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Merlin!

Merlin made his way from his room over to the training rooms. At 1 in the morning Dauntless was almost silent. He reached the training rooms without meeting anyone else. When he entered, he put on the basic lights and got to work practicing. 

Contrary to popular belief Merlin was not as hopeless at fighting as he appeared to be. He had carefully held up the facade so as to not have to choose a job that would put him in danger of exposing himself as divergent. But part of being divergent meant that he was Dauntless inclined. He loved sparing. He loved the way it felt to be in perfect control of his body. He'd had fun learning how to expand his situational awareness. And he'd loved learning how to use weapons. Guns weren't his favourite thing but the traditional weapons? There's was something heady about being able to manipulate something so deadly.

At the same time Merlin loved it because of the sheer beauty of the movements of the katas. He liked being to protect people with his skills. Liked being able to do something with his courage. Dauntless for all its faults had made him feel less useless. They had given him the power to help. He didn't think he could ever go back to how he'd been in Abnegation. He couldn't live without this release, this expression of joy and power and strength, without this assurance of his abilities.

When he had finished it was half 2 and Merlin packed up and made his way back to his room. On the way there however, he encountered two people coming his way. He quickly ducked into a little alcove to let them pass without seeing him. Neither of them noticed him, but as they went past his alcove they stopped as one pushed a finger into the other's chest.

“Don't screw this up!” She hissed. “We can't let his shipment be diverted again. We need those weapons to be delivered or the deal is off. And the longer they're there the greater the chance that someone will notice. So get this done or you'll be tangling with me!”

“You think I'm scared of you?” The man growled back at her.

“Oh hell yes!” She snarled, “Don't pretend to be braver than you are. You do it poorly.”

The man threw a punch but the woman avoided it, caught his fist and twisted it up behind the man's back.

“Do I have to break it?” She said sweetly.

“No,” the man ground out.

“Good” she said and stepped away. “Don't screw up that shipment.” Then the woman is gone. The man stared after her for moment, then cursed and went on to his own quarters.

Merlin waited a few moments and then stepped out of the alcove. He looked first after the man and then the woman and finally made his way up the paths to his own room.

“That was interesting,” he murmured in the security of his room. “Very interesting.”

* * *

 

“Hey Gaius!” said a familiar voice.

“Merlin,” said Gaius looking up to see the young boy standing next to him, thumbs hooked in his belt loops. Hunith's son. Even after three months Gaius still can't quite reconcile the boy standing in front of him with the one that had walked into Dauntless for the first time. The Merlin then had been skinny, clumsy, wrapped in baggy, grey clothes and jumpy.

The young man who stood here now was lean muscle and carried himself with confidence. He moved with an absent grace though he still tended to trip over things and he wore his tattoos like they had always been there. He was sheathed in the black of Dauntless and looked at home in clothes that would have scandalized abnegation.

Merlin for all he was a kind and gentle soul fit into Dauntless so well it frightened Gaius. He had to search for the boy who had first wandered into his infirmary with a black eye and split lip whenever he saw this Merlin.

“Hey,” Merlin said waving with his left hand. The one with 'magic' inked on it. A blatant reminder of the name given to him when he had breezed through the fear simulations so fast. It was a taunt too, to the people who hated him, a taunt that wouldn't fade.

“It's good to see you,” Giaus said, “unless you're hurt and then its not, because an old man like me needs his rest.”

Merlin laughed. “Nah I'm not hurt. Just taking a break from Tori. Lady can be hard when she's ready.”

"Did you expect anything else?" Gaius inquired.

"No," sighed Merlin. He hopped up onto one of the moving steel tables Gaius used to put his tools on. Gaius watched as he redistributed his weight almost without thought to keep the table from rolling out from under him. Gaius watching the motion, wondered as he had often wondered before, why the other dauntless did not recognize Merlin for what he was. At the same time thought he understood. Merlin was unbelievably good at hiding who and what he was. He made his skills fade into the background and was so good at combat that he made the way he moved look natural enough that people just did not realize that Merlin could be a threat. 

"Merlin," Gaius said, reprovingly, "I put my sterilized tools there."

"And you wipe it down with alcohol before you put any tools there," said Merlin shrugging.

"Why do I put up with you?" Gaius said.

"Because my mom asked you to," said Merlin grinning, "And I'm a joy to your old age."

"Is that what you think?!" Gaius demanded with a twinkle in his eyes. 

"Who else is going to steal donuts for you?" Merlin said innocently, his eyes also twinkling with laughter. 

"I'll have you know," said Gaius, straightening up in a parody of intimidation "that I have a umber of grateful patients here. I can have donuts whenever I want."

Merlin could take it no longer and burst into laughter. He laughed so hard, the table slid out from under him and  Gaius had to grab his arm before he fell flat on his face. 

"There," said Gaius when they'd both recovered enough to talk, "That teaches you to sit on my table." Merlin was set off into laughter again. 

"Yeah," he says between sputters of laughter. "Thanks Gaius."

Sometimes Gaius has to look for the boy who first came into Dauntless and sometimes, he's right there to see. 

* * *

 

"So," said Merlin when he had re-perched on on of the cots instead. "I have a question." Gaius raised his eyebrows at the somewhat serous tone. 

"You've been here longer than i am and you have a way better grasp of politics than I do at the moment, said Merlin, "So what do you think are the implications of someone moving a shipment of weapons out of Dauntless sans permission? Hypothetically speaking of course."

Gaius almost dropped his pen. 

"That's an oddly specific question Merlin," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Merlin shrugged. Gaius put down his pen and and said, "I would say that the political implications are not good. It could mean the start of an uprising against Dauntless or other factions by another faction. Or even the factionless. It's the sort of thing Dauntless is supposed to stop. It won't give your faction a good name either."

Merlin contemplated until Gaius sighed and said, "Why don't you give me the whole story Merlin?" 

Merlin met his eyes and for a moment they were almost alien. They were cold and calculating and they weighed heavily on him. Then the blue eyes lightened and Merlin nodded.

"So, I was coming back from practice..."

* * *

 

Lancelot moved inside his room. He was bareback with the mirror in his room exposed so he could judge his stance, and his spare broom handle in his hands. He shifted from stance to stance swooping the wooden rod in the accepted motions. 

He hoped dearly that no one would ever walk into his room because right now he was not the image of a perfect abnegation. He moved again letting the familiar movements sooth him. 

The old man's words from the morning haunted him. Dauntless was to protect. Yet, they couldn't protect if they couldn't match up to faction standards. But leaving people out to the cold? 

It was hard; hard to reconcile what he'd been taught to what he saw everyday. However it wasn't just the unjustice of the world he was living in. It was the sheer bitterness with which the man had spoken. Normally he wouldn't have been so disturbed but recently he'd been picking up a lot of resentment and bad feeling from the factionless. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and his instincts were twitching. Something was wrong. Something was brewing under the surface.  And it was dangerous.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love your comments!  
> Have a nice day/night!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy!!

“So, what is it?”

Arthur looked up to see Leon leaning in the doorway of his office. Arthur raised an eyebrow. Leon seemed to take that as an invitation and walked in, pulling the door closed after him. He collapsed in the chair opposite Arthur and regarded him.

“What’s what?” Arthur asked.

“What is it that’s giving you an itch between your shoulder blades?”

“I don’t have an itch between my shoulder blades,” Arthur denied, straightening up, as if that would let him hide his uneasiness.

Leon gave him a look. “Arthur, you haven’t been the same since the fire. And it’s even worse since we cleared the building. Your locked up here longer than you usually would. What is it?”

“Nothing,” Arthur said.

“Arthur…”

“Not yet,” Arthur snapped. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back. “Not yet, Leon. When I have… more than I have now, maybe I’ll tell you.”

Leon sighed. “You know I can help you right? I’m your friend Arthur. Let me help you get this… more.”

Arthur considered it but decided not to. Whatever was going on was big and he didn’t want Leon caught up in it just yet. If he was caught, he had the protection of being both a Dauntless leader and the son of a Dauntless leader. If someone caught Leon where he wasn’t supposed to be, they might not hesitate to kill him. He had no great connections.

“No,” he said to Leon. “Not yet.” He saw the man’s shoulders slump and felt a bit guilty. “Watch your back though,” he added. “And if you don’t mind, watch mine.”

“Always, Arthur,” said Leon straightening up. He stood and went over to the door, “Don’t stay up here too late.”

Arthur just smiled and waved him out. When Leon left his face darkened as he turned back to his work. He’d gone in search of ways to find out the power draw for the city and instead had stumbled across something even more alarming: The power draw for the trains. Arthur knew the train schedules; Dauntless did basically organize the train schedules because they worked on them so much. Arthur knew the weight they usually carried and the power required for the weights of the basic train run, whether it be cargo or passenger train, and he had found discrepancies.

Perhaps if he hadn’t been searching for discrepancies in the erudite buildings his eyes might not have caught on them, but he had seen them now, and finding himself barred from accessing the records of the city power draw, he had decided to work on these, while he worked out another way to get at the city power draw. Something thing weird was happening with the trains and even more alarming, something weird was happening in on the trains from Dauntless to Erudite. Arthur was determined to get to the bottom of it.

 

* * *

 

“Please tell me there’s some way of me being able to talk you out of this,” said Gaius.

“Gaius, there is some way you can talk me out of this,” Merlin said promptly.

“Are you lying?” asked Gaius.

“Yes,” said Merlin.

“Merlin,” said Gaius, “This is dangerous.”

“Dauntless,” said Merlin pointing at himself, “It sort of comes with the job description.”

“But it is dauntless you’re going up against Merlin,” said Gaius, “They’re dangerous.”

“I know,” said Merlin. He sighed and slumped. “But I’m dauntless Gaius,” he said, “I protect. Even if it is against my own people, I protect. That is what dauntless is for. If I back away from something just because it’s dangerous, just because I’m scared, I’m not dauntless, I’m not brave.”

“The dauntless always say there’s a line between being brave and being stupid,” Gaius reminded him.

“And I’ll be careful,” Merlin told him. “Trust me,” Merlin told him, “I’ll be very careful. But I have to check this out. You know I do. It’s the right thing to do.”

Gaius sighed. “Alright. Alright. But you be careful boy. I don’t ever want to have to tell your mother you’re dead.”

“You won’t,” Merlin told him.

“Don’t be reckless,” Gaius told him.

“Am I ever?” Merlin asked.

“You don’t want me answering that,” Gaius said. “Now go, or you’ll miss the train.” Merlin grinned a blindingly cheerful grin at him and whisked out of the infirmary and into the darkness of the facility.

 

* * *

 

Elyan found Gwen sitting on the porch of their home sipping a cup of chamomile tea.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied, smiling at him. “Tea?”

“Nah,” said Elyan, “I have enough of the water trying to calm me.”

Gwen laughed but she broke off, frowning.

“What is it?” Elyan asked.

“You remember that dauntless, the one I treated for the slice in his leg?” She asked him.

“Um, yeah, something with a ‘G’ right?”

“Gwaine,” said Gwen.

“Is he bothering you?” Elyan asked, concerned.

“No!” said Gwen quickly, “I mean, he’s always bothersome but not like that. It’s just…I think he knows about me.”

“What do you mean?” Elyan asked leaning forward and lowering his voice.

“I mean, I think he suspects I’m divergent,” she said softly.

“Did he tell you so?”

“Hinted at it,” said Gwen. “I don’t think he’ll tell but, I thought I should tell you.”

“Good,” said Elyan though he was burning in anger at the thought of someone threatening his sister. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Well we haven’t kept secrets in a long time,” Gwen said laughing, “I didn’t think we should start back now.”

Elyan laughed. “Me too.” He leaned back in the chair and then said. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Where?” said Gwen.

“West Orchards, see if any fruit fell,” he said.

“Sure,” said Gwen, “I feel like stretching my legs actually.”

“Good,” said Elyan. He knew that the walk would take his sister’s mind away from her worries. If he had to sacrifice his own aching legs for that, it was worth it.

 

* * *

 

Percival made his way slowly, back home after dinner. He ambled this way and that, trying to make the walk last longer. However all too soon he was back at his house. He began to walk up the stairs and then paused. He was far too restless to go inside and try to sleep. Maybe an actual walk would do him good.

He contemplated his choices of routes. He could go to the flower gardens but they were too short and he didn’t feel like walking around in the heady perfumes of the night flowers. He wanted wind and dirt and crushing leaves.

And orchard then. Which one. He pretended to think about but he knew that really there was only one choice: the West Orchard. It was darkest there, and right on the edge of inner Amity land. He had gone there many times before, to work out frustration that wasn’t supposed to be present in an amity. The West Orchard held his secrets and was so familiar as to be like an old friend.

With his mind made up, Percival slipped away from his house and made his way over to the orchard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you all think!!!
> 
> Have a nice day/night!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin goes to check out the shipment. Meanwhile Gwen and Elyan get a surprise.

Merlin's legs were falling asleep. He had come here early so as to not miss any activity that was happening. As it was he was crouched behind a stack of crates at the train depot to avoid attention, but he'd been here for at least three hours already.

Tori was going to kill him the morning when he was barely going to be able to hold a needle steady. If nobody showed up tonight Merlin was probably going to be guilty of murder. Okay he was probably just going to kill some training dummies.

But they had to be here tonight. This was the earliest night train pass this week. The train wasn't scheduled to stop in Dauntless, just pass through, but Merlin had a feeling that a stop in Dauntless was just what was going to happen. Unless of course they'd decided to do their illegal activity on the next night pass. Merlin really, really hoped not.

It was half one in the morning when Merlin heard movement. He perked up and bounced in place a little to get blood flowing back to his legs. After a few moments person came into vi, the woman and man from before along with three other guys. They didn't have anything with them, nor did they go to find anything in the station, they just stood there and waited.

A faint rumble came to his ears. Merlin cocked his head. The first train was coming. He shifted behind the crate again, watching intently.  All too soon the train rumbled into the dauntless station screeching to a halt.

Merlin let out a triumphant grin. He was right!

The dauntless at the station hopped on board and began to remove several crates out of the train. They moved quickly, efficiently and definitely with practice. When they had unloaded about 20 crates, one banged on the side of the trains and the train started back on its way.

‘So what now?’ Merlin wondered as he crouched back behind his crates. He got his answer half an hour later when the second train rumbled through and screeched to a halt.

The dauntless quickly opened up the cargo train and began to transfer the crates back in. Right! He almost bopped his head on the crate in front of him. The shipment had been diverted before. They were setting it back on its original path.

"Where is that train going? "He whispered to himself.

His train of thought was lost though when something clattered to the ground in the station. The traitorous dauntless spun around angrily and then the woman said:

"Load the rest! Jesse, Martin find who that is and make sure they end up in the chasm!"

"Shit," Merlin said as he watched the two dauntless set off in the direction of the sound. He only took a split second to make his decision. The train could wait. He had to go save an idiot from the chasm.

 

* * *

 

'Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!' Arthur chanted at himself in his head. 'You're a bloody idiot Pendragon!'

Okay to be fair, he really hadn't expected that bar in the rafters to have given way beneath him. It was supposed to have been steady. Arthur made a mental note to check the construction of the rest of the station at a less suspicious date. Right now, he had to lose the two goons who were coming after him.

Arthur slipped behind a pillar and really wished he'd had the foresight to put a cap on. He didn't have a problem with taking on two trained men but his hair was going to be a dead giveaway as to his identity and he kinda wanted to keep that under wraps for the moment. Then again, he hadn't exactly expected to have to run from said goons. He could wrap his shirt around his head....nope, super identifying tattoos. Arthur had never regretted his life choices as much as he did now.

He sighed and resigned himself to being found out. One of the men came close to the pillar and Arthur slid around and came up behind him. A quick blow behind the knees and an elbow hooked around his throat both kept the man from making noise and saved Arthur's identity. Arthur dragged e man behind the pillar before his friend managed to turn but he obviously knew someone was there and he began running over.

Arthur quickly choked out the guy in his hold and turned to face his new attacker, then there was a soft high whine of something spinning in the air and loud crash as the something hit the lights out. Arthur's attacker stumbled to a stop warily but no longer hampered by his need to keep his identity secret Arthur struck. The man fought well but Arthur wasn't a dauntless leader for nothing. He soon had the man knocked unconscious but turned as more voices came from behind him. The other two had heard the commotion and were coming to investigate.

 In the distance Arthur heard the train leave. There was nothing more for him to do here. Arthur turned and sprinted away. He heard the others come after him but that same soft whine sounded again and people cried out in surprised, feet stumbling to a halt. The distraction allowed Arthur to make his way safety out of the station and into the darkness of the Dauntless compound.

 

* * *

 

Merlin stumbled into Gaius's chambers somewhere around 3 in the morning.

"Merlin!" said the old man when Merlin woke him up. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Merlin assured him, "It just took a lot to lose those two."

"What do you mean lose them? We're you followed? Did they see you? I told you to be careful!"

"I was!" Merlin protested. "Some other idiot was there tonight and he almost got himself caught! I had to do something to save him. But don't worry they never caught sight of me. I knocked out the lights."

"Did you see who the other person is?" asked Gaius.

Merlin shook his head. "No."

"What about the train?" said Gaius.

"They moved some crates off one train and loaded it on the other. I have no ideas what's in the crates though."

"You have to find out," said Gaius.

"And I have to know where the train is going," Merlin added.

"Yes," agreed Gaius. "but Merlin, this other person... You might have an ally."

"Maybe," Merlin shrugged, "but I'm not going to count on it until I see who it is."

 

* * *

 

Elyan and Gwen were walking arm and arm in the cool darkness of the West Orchard, making a little game of trying to get the other to knock into the trees and having a competition as to who could find the most fallen fruit.

The cool air invigorated Gwen and she was glad she had accepted her brother’s proposal to walk.

“I love it out here,” she confided.

“Me too,” Elyan told her. Neither of them had to state why they loved the West Orchard so much; they both knew it was because of the comforting darkness that cloaked them from watchful eyes and the brisk wind that helped to lift them out of the calming state of Amity that they were forced to hide behind all their lives.

“May I have this dance mi’lady?” Elyan asked.

“Why sir, of course you may,” Gwen answered, “Just give me a moment to put this fruit in my pockets.”

Elyan laughed and waited patiently for her to stuff her pockets full of the sweet fruit before holding out his hand to her. Gwen took it and they waltzed haphazardly between the trees, laughing when they bumped into branches and making up their own music on the spot and laughing even more at each other’s tunes, especially since neither of them had great singing voices.

They had just finished their impromptu dance, with Gwen striking a pose in a clearing when they both heard voices. Startled they both disappeared into the trees, crouching low to the ground and hoping the shadows would hide them.

After a few tense moments, they realized that the voices were not quite as near them as they thought.  It was, in fact, coming a little from their right from some distance away but the clear night had carried their voices far.

“Who is it?” hissed Gwen.

“No idea,” said Elyan.

“Well let’s remedy that why don’t we,” Gwen said briskly and began to move towards the voices.

Elyan stared after her and then quickly began to follow her.

“I’m just going to point out that this might be a bad idea,” he told her.

“Thank you,” said Gwen, “But really who is here and why?”

“I supposed we’ll find out soon enough,” Elyan told her.

Five minutes of working their way quickly and quietly through the orchard brought them to the train line on the edge of Amity borders.

They crouched just inside the tree line and watched in surprise at the train which had slowed there and especially at the factionless who were apparently moving things off of it.

“What are they doing?” said Gwen. “Don’t they know that the theft will be noticed and then Dauntless will come after them?”

“I’m more worried about the fact that the train slowed for them,” a new voice said, startling both Gwen and Elyan. Gwen jumped and slammed her hands over her moth to muffle any noise she might have made.

“Sorry,” the voice apologized.

“Percival!” Elyan recovered first. “What are you doing here?”

“I was taking a walk,” Percival said, “and I heard voices. That you Gwen?”

“Yes,” Gwen answered shakily. “Don’t do that please!”

“Sorry,” said Percival again.

“It’s okay,” she said, pressing a hand over her beating heart.

“So what do you think is going on?” Elyan asked Percival.

The big man shrugged, the rustle of cloth the only thing that gave away his motion. “I don’t know either. But the train didn’t just slow for itself. Someone had to have slowed it for them.”

“But who would do that?” Gwen asked. But before anyone could answer, the train started picking up speed again and the factionless, jumped off it, and carting their supplies, began to melt into the forest opposite from Amity.

“We should go,” Percival observed.

“You’re right,” agreed Elyan.

“Aren’t we going to do anything?” Gwen asked.

“That’s Dauntless’ job,” Elyan told her. “If anything, we can probably drop an anonymous tip of sorts. I don’t want us involved in whatever this is.”

Gwen froze with indecision but in the end followed her brother further into the trees. However their departure was not as stealthy as they’d like. There was a shout of surprise and then a cry of alarm and then feet were pounding towards them.

“Run!” Elyan hissed. Gwen picked up her skirts and plunged into the forest at top speed.

At first she had nothing in her mind but to get as far away as possible but after the first few terrifying seconds she got her wits about her and began using her knowledge of the orchard to her advantage.

The factionless who were chasing them had never spent nights running though these same trees in the dark like she had, they didn’t know where the low handing branches were and they certainly didn’t know how not to skid on over-ripe, fallen fruit.

Next to her, Elyan was a dark shadow weaving in and out of the trees, a whisper among the leaves. Percival had disappeared some time ago of to her left. She caught glimpses here and there of him, a hulking shadow that seemed as one with the forest.

Finally their pursuers gave up the chase and Gwen and Elyan made their careful way back to the Amity compound. Halfway there Percival met them, face grim, clothes streaked with juice and leaf stains. Neither Gwen or her brother looked any better. The three of them made their way back to the compound in weary silence. At the edge of the compound they parted ways with Percival who gave them a nod in acknowledgement and then he was gone.

“I think all the fruit in my pocket got squished,” said Elyan suddenly. Gwen burst out into laughter.

 

* * *

 

Gwaine, having volunteered for a second shift, was waiting at Erudite station for the early morning train. He glanced at his watch and frowned. That was weird, this would be the third time the train was late coming to erudite this month. By five minutes maybe but the trains were usually always on schedule.

His frowned deepened as he remembered the very odd fire in the erudite building. He was probably jumpy tying together a slightly late train to a fire but his gut didn't think so. He shook himself. It was probably nothing. Still it wouldn't hurt to check out the train a little, see if there was anything odd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback!! Give me feedback!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It's been almost forever. But I hope you all enjoy this little tidbit.

When Arthur walked into his father's office, Uther looked up and said, "Arthur. Good. There's something we must discuss."

Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise but Uther continued. "Close the door."

Arthur obligingly closed the door.

"What is it?" he said.

"I’ve gotten reports that someone in dauntless are using the trains to ship contraband substances to other factions," said Uther.

"How odd," Arthur. "I came to say the same. I discovered some of them last night but they got away."

"Got away?" said Uther sounding displeased.

"I was by myself and judged it best that they didn’t know who was on their trail just yet."

"Ahh," said Uther. "You still should have taken backup."

Arthurs lips twitched. "Are you saying I can’t handle myself? I thought you trained me to ensure I could do just that."  

Uther gave him a look. "I’m sure you can but it wasn’t tactically sound Arthur.” Arthur leaned back and crossed his arms. "I’m not here to argue and we have a problem that needs discussing." Arthur made a gesture to say go on and Uther frowned at him but continued.

“Normally this falls under my purview but I find myself swamped with my current duties. Archie’s arm is still broken from breaking up that fight last night so I’m takin over his duties along with mine which leaves me with distinctly less time to devote to this.”

Arthur eyed his father and then his eyes began to twinkle. “What you mean is that you don’t want to scamper around dauntless headquarters late at night and neither do any of the older leaders which leaves me and Henry. But you don’t trust Henry not to screw up any delicate investigates, not with his senses of drama, so you’re trying to throw it onto me.”

Uther leveled a glare at Arthur but Arthur didn’t bother to hide his amusement and after a moment Uther sighed and deflated. “Yes.”

Arthur snorted. “Don’t worry father. I’m already on the trail. And you can trust that I can do it quietly.”

Uther nodded. “Bring the reports to me Arthur,” he warned. “I don’t know if this will get any bigger and we don’t want to cause panic or trouble where it’s not needed.”

Arthur nodded because his father had been a dauntless leader far longer than he had and he was much, much better at politics.

“Goodbye Uther.”

“Arthur,” his father said in reply and then Arthur was out the door.

 

* * *

 

Gwaine helped to unload some of the cargo from the train when it showed up and then went through a quick inventory of the cargo that was to be loaded to ensure everything that was supposed onboard had made it.

Then he started on a secondary inventory of the stuff that was already on board and was meant to continue on. Sometimes the loaders made mistakes which made the other factions cranky. This was usually only alleviated by telling them that you had figured out there was something missing and that it was already on the next train to you.

Gwaine checked over all the cargo that was already on the first three sections, with a practiced eye and then moved onto the last section of the train. He opened the door, hopped inside and then froze at the sight of several people inside the train car already moving out some crates there. The people also froze.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Gwaine demanded.

“This is a special cargo,” one of the men said. “It’s to be handled specially.”

“Then why didn’t you come and show the permission slip to the cargo guards?” Gwaine asked already tense and hard. “We would have allowed you to take the cargo if you have the right to it.”

“Get stuffed guard,” the man snarled. “This is above your paygrade.”

“Actually,” said Gwaine, “I’m pretty sure it isn’t. Put those crates down and show me a permission slip that details exactly what you’re allowed to take of this train and I’ll let you go with it. If you don’t you’re all coming with me, without your crates.”

There was a tense moment and then Gwaine stepped forward, intent on arresting the men since they obviously didn’t have permission to be here when something hit him hard from behind. He sprawled forward hard and the people in the car instantly began to move hurriedly as they practically threw the crates out the train to their comrades on the outside.

Gwaine rolled and made it back to his feet and turned to see who it was that had bludgeoned him over the head. As it turned out there were two of them. Large men in masks and one had a blackjack in his hand.

“Rude,” Gwaine breathed and the men converged on him. Gwaine blocked he first few blows but the men were good and they weren’t suffering a developing concussion. One managed to kick him behind the knee and the subsequent stagger caused by that, allowed another blow to crack across his temple.

Gwaine recovered enough of his guard to block another two blows, managed to catch the smaller of the men with his elbow and kneed the other but the men who’d been unloading the train car joined the fight and soon Gwaine was on the floor of the train trying his best to protect his head as the men stomped and kicked at him.

But then the train started to move and the rain of blows stop. The loaders hurriedly jumped out and slammed shut the door on the other side. The two men who were masked stood there for a moment and then one asked:

“Should we kill him?”

 “Might as well,” said the second after a pause. “He’s seen too much.”

“Really boys?” Gwaine groaned.

“Sorry Gwaine,” the second said and Gwaine now realized that the voice sounded vaguely familiar. The men tugged out Gwaine’s own firearm so they theirs wouldn’t implicate them and then as the train really picked up speed, pointed it at his head. Gwaine threw up his hand to his forehead as if to ward of the shot and then the man pulled the trigger and the bullet impacted him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts please? I love having feedback especially for crossovers because they're always tricky.


End file.
